Not later than when Prince Aemond lost his eye, King Viserys wished for the conflict between his oldest daughter Rhaenyra and his second wife Alicent to end. Betrothing Rhaenyra's only daughter Viserra to Alicent's oldest son Aegon seemed like the b...
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KING'S LANDING, 131 AC
How could one be so cursed to witness this? How could one be so stupid to think this was a feast? How could one be so naive to think everyone was enjoying this? This wasn't a day of happiness, this was a day of fear and disgust, if one were to ask the bride and the groom.
Two figures standing next to each other, bound by only one thing, the ribbon that tied their hands together. Whereas Aegon stared at their hands, his face forming a disgusted grimace, Viserra's gaze had wandered onto the opposite direction at the floor, keeping her eyes from the curse as far as possible.
This was not supposed to happen. They were not meant for each other, they had been forced to because their families could not get along. And they would never get along, not even after this wedding. It felt as though this wedding would make things only worse, not better. But while Aegon accepted the ceremony and was filled with disdain, Viserra didn't want to face it.
"In the sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one, for eternity."
A chuckle that echoed through the whole sept was heard, and it was that of no other than Daemon, who had stood by Rhaenyra's side, amused by this whole play. Those who truly knew, knew that this was an act - how everyone smiled at the pair and didn't burst out in laughter. Some kept their laughs in because they pitied the Serene Princess, others were worried about what would happen if they disrupted such an important ceremony.
But Daemon, the King's brother, could allow himself to be amused and chuckle.
He earned himself a few looks, especially that of Queen Alicent and the Septon, but King Viserys, for example, was so weak he could barely stand, let alone hear the chuckle of his brother.
"Look upon one another and say the words", the Septon's voice sounded later than planned due to Daemon's interruption. Aegon tilted his head to Viserra, fighting the urge to let out and annoyed sigh as he impatiently waited for her to look back at him to be done with this. The only prosperous thing for him that day was the wine that would be served during the feast.
However, Viserra didn't do him a favor, for she did not immediately look back at Aegon, too focused on the small ridges of the ground. The Sept had been merely 100 years old, but you could already see the effects of time on the floor stones, which, once, must have been completely even and now bumpy and a little slippery as she had noticed when walking towards the altar a few moments ago.
Of course, this deliberateness didn't go unnoticed. Aegon tapped with his foot as he side-eyed the Septon who nodded faintly and cleared his throat in order to gain the princess' attention. This made Viserra instantly look up at the Septon, her eyes widening in slight surprise, if not even fear. A head tilt from the Septon towards Aegon's direction made her understand it was time for then to exchange the vows, because, unsurprisingly, Viserra hadn't noticed the Septon's previous words either.
It was a strange feeling, to look upon the cold face of a man when his hand was so warm, and to look upon the warm face of a woman when her hand was so cold. Such contrast between the two of them. A silver-haired prince who wished for nothing more than not to be identified with the name Targaryen, and a brunette princess who wished for nothing more than to be recognised as a Targaryen, and not as other names she was called behind her back.
"Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am hers, and she is mine, from this day, until the end of my days."
"Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am his and he is mine, from this day, until the end of my days."
The prince's voice had been more audible than that of the Serene Princess, but only because Viserra's voice had cracked multiple times, fighting the urge to shed the tears thag had formed in her eyes. Aegon had spat out the words, unconsciously hoping it would get him away from this place quicker.
He was, not at all, looking forward to this. Why would he? Aegon generally disliked the idea of marriage, being forced to be with one woman, but to be wed to his niece, his bastard niece who was not just too kind, but also so childish and innocent. Who would want to be married to a child?
Viserra gulped in uncertainty after noticing that Aegon's eyes instantly wandered off of her to some point on the wall behind her after speaking the vows, and she couldn't really blame him. He probably wanted this even less than she did. After all the rumours the Serene Princess had heard, she wasn't surprised about him being so absent and indifferent. He disliked her brothers, he disliked her, he disliked anything that was linked to the House Targaryen. So it was obvious he would look at the day with scorn.
Nothing more than silence followed. Turning her head around to the people to see if anyone had even paid attention, Viserra's eyes instantly fell on Jacaerys' figure. His hands were balled into fists, his brows furrowed as if he would beat Aegon together here and then. The boy wasn't happy at all, not accepting this wedding, unlike Aegon.
Maybe Aegon had only accepted it because he had already had his own ideas of this marriage. He would do his duty for one day when they were wed and then he just wouldn't care, leaving Viserra on her own in the Red Keep whose inhabitants didn't have much sympathy left for either of Princess Rhaenyra's children.
Rhaenyra was standing next to Jacaerys, a weak smile on her lips as she watched her only daughter be married off to this honorless man in pity. All those years she had tried to call off this betrothal, but her father had always believed it would change house Targaryen to the better and create a bond between the Queen Alicent and Rhaenyra.
Viserra found herself surprised at the amount of people that had actually paid attention to the ceremony. Other than Jacaerys and Rhaenyra, she also noticed her, now, sister by law, Helaena, who stood next to her husband Kermit, with a hand on her belly. After two years of marriage, Helaena had finally come to be with child, which had made Kermit Tully, the Heir to the Riverlands, very happy. Presumably that was the reason why the two of them looked so worriless and rather brightly, for their own luck shaded over the misfortune of Viserra and Aegon.
Baela, Rhaena and Lucerys had kept themselves in the background, their grief visible in their eyes as Rhaena, too, looked away to trick her mind into thinking this was not reality. Lucerys' eyes, similar to those of Viserra, were glassy and trying to keep the tears in. He was losing his sister to his uncle and he feared Viserra was not in good hands.
The one-eyed prince, Aemond Targaryen, remained passive as well, observing everything from a corner, a smirk appearing on his face every now and then. Was it malicious joy? Ever since the incident in Driftmark, Aemond had grown cold to the Strong boys, even Viserra, whom he had been friends with when they both were "dragonless", as Aegon would like to address them. It was ironic to him that his older brother was now forced to marry the girl he had always made fun of.
And then, of course, Daemon Targaryen, Alicent Hightower and Otto Hightower, first of whom was too amused by this ridiculous wedding and the other two just staring at Aegon and Viserra without doing anything else. They were planning something, they were planning how to get rid of Viserra the moment she had been pronounced Aegon's wife.
